Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and investors and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

Cumulative metrics (since 4/1/24):

• Total books read: 127
• Total blog posts published: 854

This week’s metrics:

• Books read: 1
• Blog posts published: 7

What I completed in the week ending 8/9/26 (link to the previous week’s commitments):

• Read The Bond King, a biography about Bill Gross and the bond empire he built at PIMCO with a behind-the-scenes perspective on how his personality contributed to his downfall at PIMCO

What I’ll do next week:

• Read a biography, autobiography, or framework book

Asks:

• No ask this week

Week three hundred thirty-two was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

Continuing with my new protocol, here I’m going to share content I consumed and learned from. Last week, I spent time doing general learning about a variety of topics.

What I consumed last week and what I learned from it:

• Withdrawing profits from a $200 million e-commerce portfolio – YouTube interview with e-commerce entrepreneur and investor Roman Khan. He runs a portfolio of eight- and nine-figure e-commerce brands, and his strategy for withdrawing distributions from his portfolio companies for owners was interesting. January through October, he does a monthly distribution that’s a fixed dollar amount of about one-third of the EBITDA. Every quarter, he does a large distribution that he uses to make investments outside his company. His experience of almost going bankrupt by over-ordering inventory taught him lessons around focusing on generating and withdrawing profits from his e-commerce companies.
• Building a $250m empire through franchising – YouTube interview with entrepreneur Onyi Odunukew. I don’t know much about franchising, but this interview made me curious to learn more. Odunukew’s business as a franchisor of Glo Tanning led to his creating related businesses and ultimately an empire.

That’s what I learned from what I consumed last week.

Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and investors and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

Cumulative metrics (since 4/1/24):

• Total books read: 126
• Total blog posts published: 847

This week’s metrics:

• Books read: 1
• Blog posts published: 7

What I completed in the week ending 8/2/26 (link to the previous week’s commitments):

• Read Sol Price, a biography about the man who helped create the discount retail and membership warehouse clubs so many shoppers love today

What I’ll do next week:

• Read a biography, autobiography, or framework book

Asks:

• No ask this week

Week three hundred thirty-one was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

Continuing with my new protocol, here I’m going to share content I consumed and learned from. Last week, I spent time doing general learning about a variety of topics.

What I consumed last week and what I learned from it:

• Test packaging and product names before you create the product – YouTube interview with performance marketer Jason Kutasi. Very interesting. Good take on performance marketing from someone who’s been in the trenches for over a decade. I enjoyed learning the history of performance marketing on platforms like Yahoo and Meta. The most interesting thing in this interview was Jason’s framework for testing new ideas, like packaging and product names, using cheap Facebook ads before the product is created. Saves a ton of time and can be done for a tiny amount of money. The winner is the packaging/name with the lowest cost per lead. The other thing that stood out to me was the importance of getting the timing right on new advertising platforms.

That’s what I learned from what I consumed last week.

Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and investors and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

Cumulative metrics (since 4/1/24):

• Total books read: 125
• Total blog posts published: 840

This week’s metrics:

• Books read: 1
• Blog posts published: 7

What I completed in the week ending 7/26/26 (link to the previous week’s commitments):

• Read The Thinker’s Toolkit by former CIA analyst Morgan D. Jones, a framework book for solving complex problems by using structured thinking and breaking down problems into their component parts

What I’ll do next week:

• Read a biography, autobiography, or framework book

Asks:

• No ask this week

Week three hundred thirty was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

Continuing with my new protocol, here I’m going to share content I consumed and learned from. This week, I spent time doing general learning about a variety of topics.

What I consumed this week and what I learned from it:

• Investing with Fear – YouTube interview with investor and entrepreneur Howard Marks. Great interview. My biggest takeaway is that his best investments (with the biggest returns) were made when his firm was afraid but had to do it anyway. He said that “if you wait until you have nothing to be afraid about, probably, the opportunity has passed.” I also love his views on the keys to a great partnership: shared values, complementary skills, and mutual respect. The other thing that really stuck with me is that Marks says he did a terrible job of making decisions early in his career. He wasn’t making good decisions with intention until he was almost 50 years old. He’s now a billionaire, so it’s never too late to start thinking rationally. I also loved how he starts many of his statements with “I could be wrong, but . . .” or “I don’t know but . . .” I want to try that.

That’s what I learned from what I consumed last week.

Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and investors and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

Cumulative metrics (since 4/1/24):

• Total books read: 124
• Total blog posts published: 833

This week’s metrics:

• Books read: 1
• Blog posts published: 7

What I completed in the week ending 7/19/26 (link to the previous week’s commitments):

• Read Principles of Great Traders by George Coyle, a framework book distilling decades of interviews with elite public-market practitioners (investors and traders) into the core principles that powered their enormous returns. Coyle coauthored a book I’d already read, Market Wizards: The Next Generation, and in it he mentioned his other books and articles. I was curious about him and decided to give Principles a read since it’s pretty short.

What I’ll do next week:

• Read a biography, autobiography, or framework book

Asks:

• No ask this week

Week three hundred twenty-nine was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!

Continuing with my new protocol, here I’m going to share content I consumed and learned from. This week, I spent time doing general learning about a variety of topics.

What I consumed this week and what I learned from it:

• 300 years of Americans getting rich – YouTube interview with Joseph Moore. Moore gives a historical perspective on how Americans built wealth, including investing in the stock market, and how indexing changed the stock market. His take on bonds beating stocks for long periods made me want to learn more about bond history. His views on real estate being a path to building a modest fortune but a terrible way to make a massive fortune stuck with me. He said that real estate has not always gone up (inflation-adjusted) for most of American history and that elevated inflation and the ability to purchase using mostly debt changed this. I loved his views on how the best way to build wealth is to solve other people’s problems, take more risks, and relocate to chase opportunity. Great interview, and I’m buying the book he wrote on this topic.
• Why blogs are dying – An interesting blog post on why the top 100 once-successful blogs are dying. Only 21 of these sites continue to grow, and the vast majority have lost 85% of their traffic. My takeaway is that in the age of AI, blogs where people document what they did to solve problems (i.e., their firsthand experiences) have moats and are performing the best. The days of getting traffic by answering questions on blog posts are over because AI can quickly summarize this kind of information.

That’s what I learned from what I consumed last week.

This week I had a great conversation with someone who came across my blog and reached out. An avid reader and entrepreneur, he asked for feedback, which I gladly gave. I also shared my experience building a product similar to his and some other things I’ve learned. The conversation went longer than we’d planned. He offered to make introductions to other entrepreneurs who are avid readers, which I appreciate.

My takeaway is that sharing what I’ve learned, online for free, encourages serendipity. I have no idea how many people out there are interested in the same things I am. Some of them may come across what I’ve shared, and it may be helpful. And a smaller subset of those who get value from what I share may reach out to discuss ideas.

I enjoy my habits of daily blogging and reading; I’ve grown a ton because of them. And recently I’ve realized that they’re leading to my connecting with like-minded people, which I didn’t expect but do enjoy.  

My takeaway is that sharing what I’ve learned online has little downside and, over the years, a growing upside.

Current Project: Reading books about entrepreneurs and investors and sharing what I learned from them

Mission: Create a library of wisdom from notable entrepreneurs that current entrepreneurs can leverage to increase their chances of success

Cumulative metrics (since 4/1/24):

• Total books read: 123
• Total blog posts published: 826

This week’s metrics:

• Books read: 1
• Blog posts published: 7

What I completed in the week ending 7/12/26 (link to the previous week’s commitments):

• Reread Unknown Market Wizards by Jack Schwager, a biographical anthology profiling eleven people who generated outsized returns in public markets. I wanted to compare and contrast this book with his latest release, which I read last week (see here).

What I’ll do next week:

• Read a biography, autobiography, or framework book

Asks:

• No ask this week

Week three hundred twenty-eight was another week of learning. Looking forward to next week!